23 year old Prince Nwafor used to be an okada driver before Fashola implemented a ban on their activites in the state. After that he returned to his village in Ebonyi where he met Kingsley Chibuzor and his life in the criminal underworld began.
The syndicate he was involved in used to snatch cars and sell them to chop shops for a fraction of their value. However Prince got disgruntled after feeling cheated by the gang concerning the returns he was making.
He said, “I was a commercial motorcycle rider but when the Lagos State Government began to restrict our operation, I abandoned the job and started working as a labourer at construction sites in Lagos. However, the money was too little.
“When I travelled to my village in Ebonyi State, I met Kingsley Chibuzor, who told me that he came to the state to snatch some cars and asked me to join him. Since I needed money, I joined his gang. However, they were always cheating me when they were sharing the money.
“In the first robbery operation I did with them, we stole two cars and sold them at N800, 000. We were three, which means I should have received at least N250, 000. Unfortunately, I was given only N100, 000.
“During the second operation in Abakaliki, they cheated me again. So the third time, I used my camera phone to record the entire operation. I kept it to be used as leverage so that if they cheated me again, I can use it to blackmail them.”
He said things got worse after another operation and his share was completely withheld this led to an argument where everyone separated until the Special Antirobbery Squad apprehended them.
He said he used his share of the loot to get married.
“I went to Ebonyi State, where I had my wedding. Weddings are expensive. Soon after, my wife gave birth to a son and we were happy, but when I left the gang, I became so broke that I had to sell some of my things in order to feed.
“My parents, my wife and child had been killed during a communal clash between Amedo village in Ebonyi and Adama Village in Cross River.”
Police PRO, Ngozi Braide said some of the cars had been recovered and a search was on for the missing vehicles.